The Price of Temptation

by Harmony Williams

  A small, mousy-looking man with a balding pate and thick spectacles squinted at him. “Oh? What is it you do that keeps you so busy?”

  “Ednam,” the woman chided. “He hasn’t given me an answer yet.”

  Adam frowned. “An answer? Forgive me, I didn’t catch the question.”

  The woman twittered delicately as she fanned herself. “I said my dear Ednam and I are having an unveiling the Tuesday after next. I’ve heard you’ve been to Egypt on business. Can we count on your attendance?”

  Adam would rather wade through the muck of the Thames than subject himself to the scrutiny of a peer.

  “It will be our pleasure.”

  Adam had dreamed of that voice for far too many nights not to recognize it instantly. What was Lily playing at? As he fought to keep his expression neutral, the hairs on the back of his neck lifted. Don’t turn. She slid into place at his side as if tailored for him. He couldn’t resist sneaking a sideways glance. His wife was the fiercest, most capable woman in the room, evidenced by her posture. Despite the fact that those in the circle did their level best to skewer her with their eyes, she raised her chin and met the gaze of everyone present.

  Such a bold introduction stirred the nest of vipers. Despite his mousy appearance, the little man chuckled. “My dear, I’m afraid it’s a closed event. Scholars only.”

  Lily flushed scarlet—much the color, he imagined, that Lord Ednam’s blood would paint the drawing room. Her glare threatened violence. Fearful that she would darken the man’s daylights, Adam claimed her hand. He unfurled her fingers and laid them over his arm. Don’t do anything rash. Confidence was born of calm, not anger.

  He couldn’t fathom why she’d accepted the invitation on their behalf, but he would support her through this mad scheme even if he didn’t know its end.

  “I’ll have you know, I am a master at jewel identification.”

  The confidence in her voice warmed him. The fact that she celebrated her achievements, when once she had regurgitated excuses and hidden in the shadows, made him proud. Had he played some small role in nurturing that air of competence? He would sleep easier knowing he’d brought her something other than anguish and regret.

  The turbaned lady scoffed. “He said scholars, darling. Egyptologists. If we wish to purchase another trinket, we’ll let you know.”

  Reflexively, Adam tightened his hand over Lily’s, pinning her at his side. Her anger boiled hot in the tension of her body. He tempered it with a cool lift of his eyebrow. “Apparently you don’t number yourself among them, or you might recognize my wife’s name. She contributes often to the popular scientific journals. Perhaps you don’t read them.”

  Beneath his hand, Lily’s grip slackened. She opened her mouth, then shut it, her expression turning steely once more.

  The pair squirmed. Even Lady Breeding, her mouth agape, looked uncomfortable. Not once did an apology fall from their lips. In a tight voice, the woman he presumed to be Lady Ednam—either the little man’s wife or his sister—said, “We hadn’t realized. It’s impossible to put a face to the name.”

  The arrogant little lord flared his nostrils. “And so irregular for a woman’s opinion to be accepted to the journals.”

  “And equally irregular for a woman to read them, wouldn’t you say?” Lily’s smile was cutting. She paused, letting the barb sink deeper before adding, “And I believe the journals accept only facts presented through research.”

  Not the slightest tremor betrayed the lie, nor her expression. Adam had never been so proud.

  He slipped his arm from beneath hers in order to plant his palm on the small of her back, preparing to steer her away. “You must have wondered what business I have in Egypt. I assure you, it’s all on my wife’s behalf. I trust she meets your exacting standards?”

  The garish woman tripped over her tongue. Her husband leaped to her rescue. “Of course, you are both welcome. Where shall we send the invitation?”

  Lily delivered her address on a crisp, if slightly faded, calling card.

  The next few minutes, until a lull in the conversation provided them the excuse they needed to slip away, passed in agony. The warmth of Lily’s body beneath her dress drove him to the brink of madness. He hadn’t touched her in too long. But the middle of a peer’s parlor was not the ideal place for a reunion, even if it forced her to be civil. Adam didn’t want an empty marriage, picturesque from afar but a nightmare from within. He wanted Lily. Warm, playful, resilient Lily.

  So the moment the opportunity presented itself, he herded her into a vacant room. Leaving the door open a crack to allow for light to filter through, he drew her into the private space and turned to face her. On another day, he might have pulled her into his arms and reintroduced himself to her the way he’d longed to do in the jeweler’s shop—pressed hip to hip, chest to chest. Mouth to mouth.

  Was it a trick of the dim light, or was she swaying toward him?

  “Why are you here, Adam?”

  For you.

  She sounded resigned. Words wouldn’t mend her poor opinion of him. Neither would passion, as loath as he was to admit it. “Perhaps you ought not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now that I’ve saved your venture, tell me what mess I’ve stepped into. Why are you so interested in gaining access to Lord Ednam’s house?”

  She staggered onto the hem of her gown in her haste to be rid of him. When he reached out to steady her, she batted away his help. After taking a healthy step away, she shook out her skirts, checking for damage. And, conveniently, avoiding his gaze.

  Bereft, he flexed his hand and returned it to his side, but he didn’t let her leave the room. “I think I deserve an answer.”

  She straightened like a whip. “Why?”

  “I lied for you.”

  “You lied to me, as well.”

  Hell and damnation. Had she taken the step forward, or had he? Regardless, they’d closed the distance until her angry breaths tickled the underside of his jaw. He ached for her, to have and to hold.

  “I’ve never lied to you.” Lily was, perhaps, the one woman to whom he had shown his true self. Even during his days in the navy, he’d hidden the grudge fed by his circumstances, the truth of his heritage, how much the violence had sickened him.

  “You robbed me blind!”

  The strangled words cut him deep. That, he couldn’t deny.

  “I’m sorry. I’d like to make amends.”

  How he choked out that much, he didn’t know. For four years, he’d practiced eloquent speeches of remorse, but now that the time had come, words failed him.

  She turned on her heel, brushing against him as she departed. “Then do it by removing yourself from my company. Forever.”

  He caught her by the arm, stalling her retreat. After he’d vowed to protect her, he couldn’t walk away without answers. Not even at her behest. She might be in danger from far more than a lecherous old man.

  “Tell me, Lily. Or so help me I will show up at that mummy unveiling and find out for myself.”

  She pulled away again, another step back into the shadows. “You c-can’t.”

  Although her expression couldn’t betray her emotions, the stutter in her voice did. If she thought him the worst sort of scoundrel, he would use her poor opinion to his advantage. However, when he crowded her against the wall, he wasn’t prepared for how her nearness would affect him.

  She smelled like home. A subtle, floral scent that teased him in the dark. The brush of her chest against his tempted him to press closer. In the past, if they’d found themselves in an empty room together, the conversation would have subsisted more of subtext than speech. His dominant position roused every carnal desire he’d buried for the past four years.

  Not that Lily had ever acted submissive to him. No, she’d challenged him in and out of the bedchamber. He’d never met a woman more his equal, more a
partner.

  “I will.” He would do whatever it took to protect his partner—for better or for worse. Even if he was four years too late.

  For a moment, nothing but hesitation and the quick pants of her breath filled the air between them. However, she must have sensed his resoluteness, because she whispered, “It’s complicated.”

  “I’ve been called many names, but never an imbecile.”

  As she squeezed between him and the wall, putting space between them, the length of her body brushed against his. Soft. Warm. Irresistible—and unattainable. When she wrapped her arms around herself, he bracketed her shoulders with his hands.

  “What trouble have you found yourself in?”

  “What makes you think I’m in trouble?”

  “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be nearly so secretive.”

  His guess hit its mark, because she leaned forward. For one heart-stopping moment, he thought she would welcome his embrace. However, if he was to win her favor, it would not be in a moment of defeat. Not even the strongest woman could stand against the world without someone to support her.

  “My…my friend, Reid…”

  Adam dropped her shoulders as if scalded. “What about him?” He bit off the words. Four years ago, that man had cost him everything. If he ever crossed paths with that wretch again…

  “He bought the shop and house. He holds my livelihood in his hands. He wants…”

  Ice froze his veins solid. His future depended on her next words. If she told him that Reid Chatterley was blackmailing her for her favors…Adam would commit murder. No questions, no regrets, even if it led to the hangman’s noose.

  She shoved at his chest. “He wants the artifact he would have had if you hadn’t stolen from his family. In fact, he’s demanding I turn thief and steal it.”

  He’s stolen far more than that from me. To Lily, Adam was the blackguard. She wouldn’t believe his accusations, especially not when the man had bought up her family’s debts.

  “You still call this man a friend?”

  She flinched, pulling away. The light filtering in from the doorway lit her grimace. “You ruined his life. You ruined mine.”

  “I never stole any artifact from him.”

  “Perhaps not, but you stole from his family all the same.”

  Swindled, perhaps. It wasn’t nearly the same as what Chatterley had done to Lily, an innocent. Clenching his fists, Adam blew out a long breath. “If I’ve wronged you both, then you won’t protest my help.”

  She recoiled, her back hitting the door and slamming it shut. “Your help?”

  “Yes.” He savored the word, his voice silky with promise. “If you’re bent on diving down the path to perdition, then I’m damn well going to help you.”

  “Not if I have any say.”

  He unfurled her clenched hand and tucked a card inside. “My address, in case you change your mind.”

  Her eyes glinted. “Don’t hold your breath. I wouldn’t accept your help if you were the last man in London.”

  Chapter Five

  A sleepless night of scheming and thinking had convinced Lily that she undoubtedly required help if she were to dance to Reid’s bidding. But lawks, why must that help arrive in the guise of her husband? The man she’d hoped never to see again now held her family’s future in his hands.

  Don’t trust him. Lily stared at her reflection in the tea-shop window, all freckles and distorted form. Somewhere inside that shop, perhaps seated at one of the dainty tables along the north side, Adam waited. If he was going to help, she’d insist upon limitations to their association. For one thing, they would not engage in the sort of activities one did as man and wife. They might be married in name, but Lily would never again welcome him into her body or her heart.

  She had time yet to change her mind. Walk away. Find a solution on her own.

  But she wasn’t a scholar. If tested on her knowledge of jewels, she could dazzle an audience. Her knowledge of Egypt was riddled with gaps. And what if they asked after the essays she had purportedly published in scientific journals?

  No, without help, she would falter and her family would be turned out. If she distrusted her husband, she trusted Reid only marginally more. He wasn’t the young man she’d once counted among her friends. If he’d changed so much, she wouldn’t put it past him to cast her family out onto the street and sell their holdings.

  Willa’s marriage prospect had all but spat in her face. Sophie couldn’t be bothered to husband-hunt. The burden of their future resided squarely on Lily’s shoulders.

  Taking a deep, steadying breath, she opened the shop door and stepped inside.

  The heady scents of cinnamon and sugar made her mouth water. Every table in the modest shop was occupied, everyone nursing a cup of tea and a scone or pasty. In the sweaty crush of bodies, Lily searched for the man she’d come to meet.

  A young lady and her chaperone. Three young men recently out of university, by the fresh-faced look of them. An older couple. Nowhere did she see Adam. Had he not come? When she’d suggested they meet to discuss the particulars of his help and asked for his direction, he’d suggested they meet in this shop instead. Lily had readily agreed; the shop was near enough to her jeweler’s shop that she wouldn’t have to delay work too long in order to accommodate this conversation.

  Adam must have changed his mind. About meeting her—and helping her. What was she to do now?

  “Shall I buy you a pasty?”

  He’d come. Given the way she trembled at the low timbre of his voice, she ought to decline. But if they were to work together, she had to act civil. Not to mention, a part of her wanted to squeeze him for every penny he had.

  She turned, trying to ignore the way her body reacted to the sight of him. Today, he wore a chocolatey velvet jacket that molded to his athletic physique and emphasized his hazel eyes. Warm, earnest eyes that softened her belly.

  “Please.”

  He smiled as if handed a sunken treasure. “Wait here a moment. I’ll return directly.”

  There he went, leaving her in his wake as he set off to accomplish his task. Lily clenched her hands over her waist and searched for an empty table. She might need him for the moment, for her family’s sake, but she couldn’t forget that he would disappear again. This time, hopefully without what little fortune she had to her name. She would accept his help, but she could never bring herself to be grateful to a man who had used and discarded her.

  Deciding not to sit, Lily hardened herself. As much as memory called, she refused to fall prey to him again. In fact, this time she would be the one to use and discard him.

  Maybe then, their slate would be wiped clean.

  …

  Adam juggled the hot pasties in one hand as he opened the door for Lily to precede him into the street. As a couple, they stirred no remarks as he led her along the cobblestones. Their conversation would meld into the babble and bustle, a hair more private than if they’d spoken in the cramped tea shop with so many people within earshot. Eager to touch her, he passed her the meat pasty he had ordered for her. She looked too thin, like she hadn’t seen a hearty meal in months. She accepted it without looking at him and strolled down the street.

  He kept pace easily, studying her out of the corner of his eye. Was she tempted to renege on the acceptance of his help? He bit into his own hot meal, buying himself time to think.

  He and Lily had always conversed so easily. He’d been absorbed in her, eager to learn her every facet. Every time he’d earned a laugh, he’d considered it a prize. However, ambling next to her, he felt as if a glass barrier separated them—invisible, but tangible nonetheless.

  The woman walking by his side was far harder than the one he’d left in their hotel room in Bristol. She strode with a curt economy of her steps, as if reluctant to waste even those on him. First, she nibbled at her food, but a
ppetite must have overtaken her because she polished off the last bite and drew a handkerchief from her bodice before they turned the corner. When she wiped daintily at her lips, Adam couldn’t help but recall their taste and shape.

  And wonder if any other men had sipped from them. Had Chatterley?

  Hell and damnation, but Adam shouldn’t even be here. If that blackguard hadn’t threatened Lily, twisted her into doing his bidding like a marionette, Adam would have kept his distance until he’d finalized their escape plan. Reid Chatterley had made the consequences of returning to Lily abundantly clear. Adam hadn’t worked so hard to keep her out of Chatterley’s crosshairs only to throw all his efforts to the wind now.

  “My offer to help is genuine. Whatever he intends for you to do, we’ll square it away. You and your family will be safe.”

  Safe from Chatterley. How could she call that cretin a friend? From the moment he and Lily had met, Chatterley had hovered over them, offering his opinion where it was not wanted. Had Lily known the truth of her friend, she wouldn’t trust herself to be on the same continent with him, let alone in the same room.

  The truth burned the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it. She wouldn’t believe him even if he attempted to explain. After all was said and done, he had left her to her own devices in Bristol, trusting that her family would take care of her. With actions like those to speak for his character, telling her the truth might only propel her to Chatterley’s doorstep to seek confirmation. And Chatterley had made it abundantly clear that he would have Adam tried for desertion and also have Lily charged with harboring a fugitive, if Adam turned her good opinion of her former friend.

  No, better she hate Adam and remain free.

  Thrusting the handkerchief back into the crevice between her breasts, Lily stopped abruptly on the street corner. The tall building to the southeast cast its shadows over them like an accusatory finger.

  Two young girls barely out of the schoolroom stumbled over their hems and muttered obscenities. Their chaperone, a matronly woman with a stern eye, grabbed them each by the shoulder and steered them away, boxing their ears as she went. Turned toward him, Lily didn’t appear to notice them.